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Fort McMurray Pottery Guild members, from left, Susan Jakubec, Dolores Abraham, Brenda Simcoe and Julie Bugg are hoping council will support the arts and delay a capital budget request for renovations at The Casman Centre that would see them lose their studio. Photo: Carol Christian

Rumours of proposed renovations to the Casman Centre that would cost the Fort McMurray Potters Guild its long-time home have come true.

Guild members met Nov. 7 with the Northern Alberta Athletic Association (Oil Barons hockey) to address the rumour the NAAA has plans to expand the food service area including a lounge which would be situated where the current studio is located.

If the plans go through, the guild has to be out by the spring, and members prefer finding an immediate long-term home instead of finding a quick solution to hold them over in the short-term while looking for a permanent studio.

"We were concerned that we didn't have a long time to deal with it and find a good solution, and a little concerned that things were in the works without our knowledge."

The arena was built in the early 1980s with the studio incorporated into the building.

However, because the arena is owned by the municipality, guild members will be making a presentation to regional council tonight asking it delay approval of the NAAA's capital budget request to move forward with the plans until the guild can find a new, preferably long-term, location.

The guild is asking members, both past and present, to attend the meeting to support the guild's initiative.

"What we're hoping for is that council will take a look and say, 'Yes, this expansion, we want it to go forward, but let's put it on hold until we have a permanent space.'"

If council does approve the NAAA's request, Bugg said, "they'll want us to move as soon as possible. There has been no deadlines."

The guild and NAAA have been meeting and Bugg recognizes the association wants to move ahead with its plans, but it can't make everyone happy, and admits she's hoping council balances the issues out.

That search for a new home is causing some concern for members.

The guild, which currently has 36 members with an estimated 200 others attending classes and workshops, has been working with the region since Nov. 14 to find a long-term solution.

"We're pretty confident that it should be able to work out. We're still a little worried about what we're doing, just in case ... The city here is so full and anything here costs a lot for rent so to be able to get something with this space and renovate it for our uses for the short-term is a little concerning."

Bugg acknowledged that a lot of work went into the original studio space, and it would take a lot of work to create a short-term space to accommodate the studio. Members prefer to put that amount of work into a permanent home instead.

The guild pays a "very reasonable" rent at the arena for the studio which is just over 2,000 square foot. The work area takes up most of that spaces with

the kilns and storage areas accommodating the rest of the space.

"That's the kind of support we've had from the city and NAAA; keeping the rent at a reasonable rate," said Bugg.

Members define reasonable rent as $1,000.

Moving is going to be tricky, especially given the size of some of the equipment such as the three small kilns, the larger gas kiln, the heavy equipment that goes with them and the glaze barrels.

"We have to make sure if we do move in early spring, that nothing freezes so there's a lot of different concerns that go into a move."